Press Release for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015
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BUTOH MEDEA
PRESENTED BY LIVE ARTS COLLABORATION, INC. & REN GYO SOH
East meets West: Japanese Butoh dance and Greek theatre breathe new life into the ancient tale of Medea.
Using the Japanese dance of Butoh and an adapted text, Japanese actress Yokko tells the story of Medea through solo performance. This fusion of Western drama and Eastern dance draws the audience into Medea’s spirit. They experience the world she is trapped in where love, hate, despair and the struggle between her humanity and inhumanity take hold.
“…unforgettable theatre…I highly recommend that you experience Medea as you never have before.” – Chris Carlone, Butoh Heart.
Butoh Medea premiered in New York City in 2014, conceiving a new genre of performance. It received 4 awards at the United Solo theatre festival in 2014: Best One-Woman Show, Best Lighting Design, Best Costume Design and Best Choreography. United Solo presented 130 productions from 6 different continents. Yokko started creating Butoh Medea in March 2014 by adapting the mythological Medea and Euripides' tragic dramatization of her story using the Japanese dance form of Butoh. The creative team include: director Brian Rhinehart, playwright Sean Michael Welch, co-choreographer Jordan Rosin, costume designer Deepsikha Chaterjee, lighting designer Derek Van Heel and UK producer Laura Kressly.
Contact Details:
Yokko, producer
Laura Kressly, producer
07515387222
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.butohmedea.com
https://www.facebook.com/butohmedea
@ButohMedea
"It was breathtaking performance." - Kaoru Komi, Syukan New York Seikatsu Press.
www.edfringe.com
ENDS
EDITOR NOTES
PRESENTED BY LIVE ARTS COLLABORATION, INC. & REN GYO SOH
East meets West: Japanese Butoh dance and Greek theatre breathe new life into the ancient tale of Medea.
Using the Japanese dance of Butoh and an adapted text, Japanese actress Yokko tells the story of Medea through solo performance. This fusion of Western drama and Eastern dance draws the audience into Medea’s spirit. They experience the world she is trapped in where love, hate, despair and the struggle between her humanity and inhumanity take hold.
“…unforgettable theatre…I highly recommend that you experience Medea as you never have before.” – Chris Carlone, Butoh Heart.
Butoh Medea premiered in New York City in 2014, conceiving a new genre of performance. It received 4 awards at the United Solo theatre festival in 2014: Best One-Woman Show, Best Lighting Design, Best Costume Design and Best Choreography. United Solo presented 130 productions from 6 different continents. Yokko started creating Butoh Medea in March 2014 by adapting the mythological Medea and Euripides' tragic dramatization of her story using the Japanese dance form of Butoh. The creative team include: director Brian Rhinehart, playwright Sean Michael Welch, co-choreographer Jordan Rosin, costume designer Deepsikha Chaterjee, lighting designer Derek Van Heel and UK producer Laura Kressly.
Contact Details:
Yokko, producer
Laura Kressly, producer
07515387222
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.butohmedea.com
https://www.facebook.com/butohmedea
@ButohMedea
"It was breathtaking performance." - Kaoru Komi, Syukan New York Seikatsu Press.
www.edfringe.com
ENDS
EDITOR NOTES
Title: Butoh Medea
Performance Dates: 10-15, 17-22, 24-30 August 2015
Running Time: 55 minutes
Location: Paradise Green, Paradise in the Vault, 11 Merchant Street, Edinburgh EH1 2QD
Box Office phone: 0131 510 0022
Box Office online: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/butoh-medea
Twitter: @butohmedea, @rengyosoh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/butohmedea
Website: www.butohmedea.com
Director: Brian Rhinehart Writer: Sean Michael Welsh
Adapter: Yokko & Sean Michael Welsh Producer: Ren Gyo Soh and Laura Kressly
Lighting Design: Derek Van Heel Costume Design: Deepsikha Chatterjee
Choreography: Yokko and Jordan Rosin Asst. Director: Cihangir Duman
Speech Coach: Alyssa Ciccarello Performer: Yokko
Company information: Ren Gyo Soh is a multi-award winning New York City-based theatre company, founded by Yokko in 2014. It produces her choreographed work with collaborators using Butoh, acting, movement, yoga and voice. It offers seasonal workshops.
Production History: SHINKA (EVOLUTION) (2015), The Name of Action (2015), Going to Bed (2015), A Green Bird (2015), Hoich (The Earless) (2014), Butoh Medea (2014), The Red Shoes (2014). Ren Gyo Soh’s prior incarnation was as JPAC (Japanese Performing Arts Company), which Yokko founded in Oregon in 2008. With JPAC, she performed her first work, Blue Sky -There is a Will; There is a Way- combining Japanese classical dance, Japanese stage combat, contemporary dance and drama. JPAC also trained company members and held workshops for local communities to share Japanese culture. Yokko received the "International Understanding Award" for JPAC's work in 2008. During 2011 and 2012 she performed for NICODA, and presented her solo piece, Hope From the Chaos and duet KIZUNA (Connection).
Awards:
Best One-Woman Show (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Choreography (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Lighting Design (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Costume Design (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo
International Understanding Award (Blue Sky-If There is a Will, There is a Way-, JPAC,
2008) University of Oregon
Team Bios
Brian Rhinehart (Director) is an actor, director, university lecturer and Fulbright scholar. An expert in devised theatre and collaborative playmaking, he has worked as a freelance theatre director in Florida and New York for the last seventeen years. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from The Actors Studio Drama School, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida. He is a Member of AEA and SDC.
Sean Michael Welch (Writer & Adapter) was awarded the 1999 Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival John Cauble Short Play Award for Earl the Vampire, and won the 2000 KC/ACTF Region III Ten-Minute Play Competition for Charleston's Finger. His first novel Good Show, Pear Danube! is now available in paperback and for Kindle.
Yokko (Performer, Choreographer & Adapter) is an actress & movement artist from Japan. She debuted in United Solo in 2013 with her first solo show, BALDY, which had also been featured at FringeNYC, Hollywood Fringe, and Center For Remembering & Sharing. She has worked for The Ume Group since 2011, appearing in Butoh Electra, Facet, and Isis Variations. Other theatre credits include: Lady in Red Converses with Diablo, The Woolgatherer and Odyssey. She has a B.A in Theatre from University of Albany and an MFA in Acting form The Actors Studio. www.yokko-online.com
Jordan Rosin (Co-Choreographer) is a physical theatre artist, Butoh dancer, teacher, and movement coach. He also draws on gymnastics, yoga, clowning, and martial arts. He received his BFA in Drama from Syracuse University and has trained with numerous teachers of Butoh including Joan Laage, Vangeline, Diego Pinon, Tetsuro Fukahara, Ko Murobushi, and Katsura Kan. Performance credits include "SHINKA (Evolution)" and "Hoichi (The Earless)." Other butoh performance credits include Tetsuro Fukahara's Tokyo Space Dance Project in New York City. Jordan serves as the Producing Artistic Director of the NYC-based physical theatre ensemble, The Ume Group. www.jordanrosin.com or www.theumegroup.org
Deepsikha Chatterjee (Costume Designer) teaches Costume Design, History, Crafts and Introduction to Theatre at Hunter College in New York City. She has her MFA in Costume Design and Technology from Florida State University. Originally from India, she received her undergraduate degree in fashion design and psychology and worked in the export manufacturing industry. For the past few years she has been designing at the Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival in central Virginia.
Derek Van Heel (Lighting Designer) has had a career in the entertainment industry from age 17, when he got a job running a camera for the news in his Montana hometown. He spent most of his 20s in Seattle, working in various theatres and on numerous national tours. Recent designs include: Gone at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre (Melinda Sullivan Dance Project), Cinderella (Connecticut Ballet), The Miracle Worker (Montana Repertory Theatre, Nat’l Tour) Orestes (Columbia University), ASHÉ (UP Theater Company) and Sightlines (Custom Made Theatre Company at the cell theatre). He’s been touring again as the Lighting Director for Gallim Dance, and recently collaborated with Brooklyn band CHAPPO, serving as designer and consultant for a stop-motion animated video to accompany their new album, Future Former Self. BFA: The University of Montana. MFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Laura Kressly (UK Producer for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015) has a BA in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College and an MFA in Staging Shakespeare from the University of Exeter. She has lived in the UK since 2004. After completing her MFA, she worked as a freelance actor and facilitator in Britain and Europe for several years before co-founding London fringe theatre company, River Productions. After a career break working solely in the education sector, she returned to the industry as a freelance theatre producer and critic. She still teaches Drama part time at an independent secondary school in South West London. Laura is also a keen photographer. Find her on twitter @shakespeareanLK and read her reviews on theplaysthethinguk.wordpress.com.
Cihangir Duman (Assistant Director) is a director and actor. G was born in Istanbul, Turkey where received a BS in Physics from Bogazici University. He is a graduate of Actors Studio Drama School. His recent directing works include: Escape Artist, On The Run, Blackbird, The Odd Couple, God of Carnage and Election Day. www.cihangirduman.com
Alyssa Ciccarello (Speech Coach) works as a speech, voice and dialect coach for new plays and classical theater, and as a performer in devised work. She recently started coaching with the Public Theater (The Tempest) and is featured in a music video shot in Barcelona (Le Città Invivibili). She also serves on the faculties of several universities, including Fordham and the Actors Studio Drama School, and as the Head of Voice at Maggie Flanigan Studio.
Performance Dates: 10-15, 17-22, 24-30 August 2015
Running Time: 55 minutes
Location: Paradise Green, Paradise in the Vault, 11 Merchant Street, Edinburgh EH1 2QD
Box Office phone: 0131 510 0022
Box Office online: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/butoh-medea
Twitter: @butohmedea, @rengyosoh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/butohmedea
Website: www.butohmedea.com
Director: Brian Rhinehart Writer: Sean Michael Welsh
Adapter: Yokko & Sean Michael Welsh Producer: Ren Gyo Soh and Laura Kressly
Lighting Design: Derek Van Heel Costume Design: Deepsikha Chatterjee
Choreography: Yokko and Jordan Rosin Asst. Director: Cihangir Duman
Speech Coach: Alyssa Ciccarello Performer: Yokko
Company information: Ren Gyo Soh is a multi-award winning New York City-based theatre company, founded by Yokko in 2014. It produces her choreographed work with collaborators using Butoh, acting, movement, yoga and voice. It offers seasonal workshops.
Production History: SHINKA (EVOLUTION) (2015), The Name of Action (2015), Going to Bed (2015), A Green Bird (2015), Hoich (The Earless) (2014), Butoh Medea (2014), The Red Shoes (2014). Ren Gyo Soh’s prior incarnation was as JPAC (Japanese Performing Arts Company), which Yokko founded in Oregon in 2008. With JPAC, she performed her first work, Blue Sky -There is a Will; There is a Way- combining Japanese classical dance, Japanese stage combat, contemporary dance and drama. JPAC also trained company members and held workshops for local communities to share Japanese culture. Yokko received the "International Understanding Award" for JPAC's work in 2008. During 2011 and 2012 she performed for NICODA, and presented her solo piece, Hope From the Chaos and duet KIZUNA (Connection).
Awards:
Best One-Woman Show (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Choreography (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Lighting Design (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo Best Costume Design (Butoh Medea, 2014) United Solo
International Understanding Award (Blue Sky-If There is a Will, There is a Way-, JPAC,
2008) University of Oregon
Team Bios
Brian Rhinehart (Director) is an actor, director, university lecturer and Fulbright scholar. An expert in devised theatre and collaborative playmaking, he has worked as a freelance theatre director in Florida and New York for the last seventeen years. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from The Actors Studio Drama School, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida. He is a Member of AEA and SDC.
Sean Michael Welch (Writer & Adapter) was awarded the 1999 Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival John Cauble Short Play Award for Earl the Vampire, and won the 2000 KC/ACTF Region III Ten-Minute Play Competition for Charleston's Finger. His first novel Good Show, Pear Danube! is now available in paperback and for Kindle.
Yokko (Performer, Choreographer & Adapter) is an actress & movement artist from Japan. She debuted in United Solo in 2013 with her first solo show, BALDY, which had also been featured at FringeNYC, Hollywood Fringe, and Center For Remembering & Sharing. She has worked for The Ume Group since 2011, appearing in Butoh Electra, Facet, and Isis Variations. Other theatre credits include: Lady in Red Converses with Diablo, The Woolgatherer and Odyssey. She has a B.A in Theatre from University of Albany and an MFA in Acting form The Actors Studio. www.yokko-online.com
Jordan Rosin (Co-Choreographer) is a physical theatre artist, Butoh dancer, teacher, and movement coach. He also draws on gymnastics, yoga, clowning, and martial arts. He received his BFA in Drama from Syracuse University and has trained with numerous teachers of Butoh including Joan Laage, Vangeline, Diego Pinon, Tetsuro Fukahara, Ko Murobushi, and Katsura Kan. Performance credits include "SHINKA (Evolution)" and "Hoichi (The Earless)." Other butoh performance credits include Tetsuro Fukahara's Tokyo Space Dance Project in New York City. Jordan serves as the Producing Artistic Director of the NYC-based physical theatre ensemble, The Ume Group. www.jordanrosin.com or www.theumegroup.org
Deepsikha Chatterjee (Costume Designer) teaches Costume Design, History, Crafts and Introduction to Theatre at Hunter College in New York City. She has her MFA in Costume Design and Technology from Florida State University. Originally from India, she received her undergraduate degree in fashion design and psychology and worked in the export manufacturing industry. For the past few years she has been designing at the Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival in central Virginia.
Derek Van Heel (Lighting Designer) has had a career in the entertainment industry from age 17, when he got a job running a camera for the news in his Montana hometown. He spent most of his 20s in Seattle, working in various theatres and on numerous national tours. Recent designs include: Gone at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre (Melinda Sullivan Dance Project), Cinderella (Connecticut Ballet), The Miracle Worker (Montana Repertory Theatre, Nat’l Tour) Orestes (Columbia University), ASHÉ (UP Theater Company) and Sightlines (Custom Made Theatre Company at the cell theatre). He’s been touring again as the Lighting Director for Gallim Dance, and recently collaborated with Brooklyn band CHAPPO, serving as designer and consultant for a stop-motion animated video to accompany their new album, Future Former Self. BFA: The University of Montana. MFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Laura Kressly (UK Producer for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015) has a BA in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College and an MFA in Staging Shakespeare from the University of Exeter. She has lived in the UK since 2004. After completing her MFA, she worked as a freelance actor and facilitator in Britain and Europe for several years before co-founding London fringe theatre company, River Productions. After a career break working solely in the education sector, she returned to the industry as a freelance theatre producer and critic. She still teaches Drama part time at an independent secondary school in South West London. Laura is also a keen photographer. Find her on twitter @shakespeareanLK and read her reviews on theplaysthethinguk.wordpress.com.
Cihangir Duman (Assistant Director) is a director and actor. G was born in Istanbul, Turkey where received a BS in Physics from Bogazici University. He is a graduate of Actors Studio Drama School. His recent directing works include: Escape Artist, On The Run, Blackbird, The Odd Couple, God of Carnage and Election Day. www.cihangirduman.com
Alyssa Ciccarello (Speech Coach) works as a speech, voice and dialect coach for new plays and classical theater, and as a performer in devised work. She recently started coaching with the Public Theater (The Tempest) and is featured in a music video shot in Barcelona (Le Città Invivibili). She also serves on the faculties of several universities, including Fordham and the Actors Studio Drama School, and as the Head of Voice at Maggie Flanigan Studio.
